Natural Hair Fun Suckers-- Are You One?

As you may already know, Solange Knowles is no longer a spokesperson for Carol's Daughter. Are you surprised? I'm not. Between the comments about her hair being unkempt, the backlash from her Twitter rant, and Solange's "I do whatever I want, and y'all will deal" attitude, I knew it was only a matter of time before she said "Deuces" to Carol's Daughter.
Solange on leaving:

I was constantly fighting for the right message to be heard. The message that the way we wear our hair is a personal choice, there’s no right or wrong way; one way doesn’t make us more intelligent, or more superficial, and everyone makes that choice for very different reasons.

I can totally see where Solange is coming from. I've noticed that if people aren't criticizing others for how much time they put into their wash 'n go's, they're talking about how dry and unkempt someone else's hair looks. Does the judgment ever end?
For whatever reason, some  people feel entitled to provide unsolicited comments and "advice" to those who clearly couldn't care less about the opinions of others. If someone asks for help, by all means, give your two cents. However, if someone is clearly content with how their hair is, who are you to tell them that it's really in their best interest to try a different moisturizer because their hair looks parched? Some might say that there is nothing wrong with  being helpful, but "help" is not synonymous with "command". Nowadays, I see a lot more "You NEED to" instead of "Here's a suggestion" or "This is what I do". Sure there are basics to hair care, but even with that, people's regimens differ-- so why do we continue to promote our personal preferences as universal rules? And if people aren't concerned about the methods and products others are using, they're crying rivers when a prominent blogger/vlogger or celebrity chops off her hair, straightens her hair, or *gasp* relaxes her hair. It's never that serious.
African Export recently posted a video about this topic (which is really what inspired my post):

In the video, she says:

It's turned into a  game of better than, what works better than, what you should be doing/shouldn't be doing-- that's not what it's about. That is a discouragement for women and men who are considering the journey of going natural.

I completely agree with her-- less constraints, more freedom.
We're becoming consumed by who's doing what to their hair with what products, who is crazy for using products with silicones, and who is foolish for trimming their hair themselves instead of going to a salon. There is nothing like absorbing an abundance of hair care information and feeling confident in knowing how to tend to your hair's needs. However, we need to be less concerned about what's going on in someone else's scalp and more open to allowing people to do what works for them-- as much as it kills some to do so. I can only imagine the amount of naturals right now, especially newly naturals, who currently want to try a certain product, blow dry their hair, or dye their hair, but are reluctant because these are "no no's" among naturals. Wanna blow dry your hair? Do it. If you get heat damage, cut if off, and keep it moving. It. Grows. Back.
When it comes to your hair, take a page out of Solange's book. Do whatever you want. People will deal.